August is when the echoes of April's events materialize into a new phase of becoming. NGL (not gonna lie), the terrain ahead will demand our creativity, patience and ingenuity. I think the fearmongering on the internet about August's gnarly astrology has some merit, but there's a part of me that also thinks it's slightly inflamed because it reflects a collective discomfort around mutability, or being in between places. Keep reading my breakdown of the first week of August’s astroweather skies!

I've taken a couple of months' break from writing monthlies but now I'm back! Astrology writing is like a channelling ritual and it strengthens my skills as an astrologer and ultimately makes me feel more grounded in the present unfolding time. The latter is superb because I spend so much time travelling to the past and future in consultations that I sometimes end up feeling bemused by the current skies. In consultations, I get to collaborate with clients in conversation. But in writing, I lean more into delineation and imagination. Both distinct dynamics engage my intuition and magical thinking and provide me with insights that serve both my clients and readers. So thank you for being here.

BUT FIRST, A NOTE ON HOW I ENGAGE WITH ASTROLOGIZING:

Astrology like a map can help describe the path ahead —warning you of potential rocks falling from the hills, giving you the angles of the steep peaks, marking waterways, identifying native plants and calculating the time it will take for you to go from point A to point B, etc. Awareness of what's to come allows you to prepare for the journey. Even if all the 'prep' you manage to do is read this writing, I believe that at the minimum, this foreknowledge can give your heart and spirit a guiding hand. Perhaps also, it's a fine balance, as sometimes the same access to future information can cause worry and anxiety. This is what I always say, when engaging with divination, you must cultivate a solid sense and trust in yourself. So you know when to lean in and when to pull away.

In any case, I love maps! But on a more in-spirited level, I think of astrology and astrologizing as being in a close relationship with a wise and kind elder. Someone who witnesses my erroneous ways but won't say I told you so, who replenishes my reserves when there's a persistent hollow feeling of 'what's the point?', who shows me to not give into despair for too long because the remedy to grief is the fierce persistence of being alive. The planets are like guides and guardians of life here on earth from time immemorial. Tapping into their movements is like joining their circle of fire and hearing their songs and conversations.

And so, when the going gets rough, and even when the sweetness overfloweth, I turn my gaze towards these wise elders so I can learn to listen well and heed their guidance.

So why do you like reading astroweather writing? What are your motivations for astrologizing? Aside from wanting to know information, how does knowing the unfolding comic timeline support you? What problems does this fix in your life? How does this relationship to astrology serve your relationships and communities?

THE OPENING PATH

The first path of the month is full of heart and invitation to slow tf down. As the month moves forward, there is a palpable crescendo of intensity that can show up as a sense of urgency. However, it might be wise to resist the call of moving in haste. As they say in harm reduction, start low and go slow.

August 4th PDT is quite the day! We have a New Moon at 12° Leo, Venus entering Virgo and Mercury stationing retrograde at 4° Virgo ＼(°o°；）

New Moon at 12° Leo

The New Moon at 12° Leo marks a new annual cycle of beginning in the Leo area of your charts. Especially considering how any planets entering a fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius), end up meeting Pluto in Aquarius in a strenuous aspect. The Leo part of your charts, since March 2023, has been set up to experience the beginning of profound change over a long arc of time (we're talking 20+ years!). This is especially potent if you have any planets or angles in fixed signs. For now, this New Moon is excellent for tethering yourself to your heart so that it may guide you on the next phase of your evolution.

Venus in Virgo

Our goddess of love and justice, Venus, enters the sign of its fall, Virgo. While her ruler Mercury stations retrograde at 4° Virgo. Venus's time in Virgo will be one to watch as the month progresses because she'll be part of the mutable T-cross with the malefics (Mars and Saturn) that's highly anticipated this month.

I tend to call planets that are in their exile or fall as being exhausted. They still have to continue to do their planetary virtues, but in the zodiac sign environment that's incompatible with their essential natures, it's an exhausting affair. It's like imagining myself working as an accountant - while I can learn and eventually execute the skills required to do my accountant job, my body-mind-and-spirit will slowly wither away and I will likely make major errors due to how exhausting doing the actual job is. So essential dignity-wise, Venus in Virgo is tired but she must continue with her actions of beautifying, harmonizing and relating.

I'm no mundane astrologer but on the world stage, this could signal more unfortunate news or turn of events concerning artists, sex workers, women, femmes, and youth. Perhaps a stalling, delay or reversal of progress in relational harmony and social justice concerning those Venusian archetypes. In your birth charts, this Venus transit, while can still impart some sweetness in the Virgo areas of your charts, might be ineffective at best as she's not really set up well to deliver the desired respite that one expects. Magically, this would be an excellent time to show your support, by way of time and resources, to these groups of people as a practice of Venus remediation.

(technical tidbit for the astronerds: Despite being buried under (fall) and subject to malefic rays during her entire stay in Virgo, some consolation is that: she's an evening star now, has daytime triplicity rulership in Virgo, and is in an earth sign which is preferable to her nocturnal tastes.)

Mercury stations retrograde at 4° Virgo

To add to Venus’ dire circumstances, her main boss Mercury is slowed down at 4° Virgo going all the way back to 21° Leo until August 28th. Once again, I am asking you not to panic over Mercury retrogrades. Think of planets that are retrograde as detouring away from their main objectives. They have a quality about them that goes against the established status quo and their slowing down is a process of introspection. In this state, retrograde planets offer a diversity of perspectives and provide an opportunity to reassess and review. Mercury being in its domicile and exaltation in Virgo also protects it from the weakening effects of its retrogradation.

Retrograde motion is like being in touch with the indigenous wisdom of living with the cycles of time. Where you only harvest what is needed and you are receptive to the life of the land. There is a harmonious way of understanding the speed with which an ecosystem needs to move so it can sustain generations of life to come. I think this is why our colonial and capitalist world pathologizes periods of Mercury retrogrades because it encourages waiting, not starting and actions not resulting in desired outcomes.

One of the key features of 2024's Mercury retrogrades is that it generally moves through earth and fire signs. In your birth charts, you can think of the significations of the earth and fire sign houses in your charts as receiving a longer visit from the psychopomp and messenger god. Mercury is set up to give critical feedback in these areas of your life where you get extra time to reevaluate what needs to be finished, what you need to purge, and what you need to fix.

Mercury be like:

I will pause here for now as the word count has gotten away from me. I didn't mean to write this much but alas! For now, the opening path of this month ahead is giving way to the rising intensity of mid-month. I'll be writing back to breakdown the upcoming mutable T-cross at the hotspot of 17° featuring Mars and Jupiter conjoined in Gemini, squaring Saturn in Pisces and eventually, Venus in Virgo squaring Jupiter and Mars and opposing Saturn (this configuration ultimately forms a T shape). Mercury also retrogrades back into Leo which will oppose a Full Moon in Aquarius at 27° Aquarius that's squaring Uranus in Taurus (if you did not understand any of that, do not worry kitten).

For this month, and for always, you would do well to cultivate strength of resolve and to generate skills that encourage your flexibility in the face of discord and change. My herbalist recently told me that the expression of symptoms is also a sign of rehabilitation. The impulse to suppress symptoms to relieve our discomfort sometimes hinders our inherent ability to cure the underlying cause of illness. Please take good care of yourselves and each other. I’ll write you soon for the second part of August’s astrology! If you want to sit down together for a one-on-one consultation, I offer month-ahead offerings.

ART RAFFLE FOR G^Z^

If you’ve read this far, thank you! I’m offering personalized horoscopes as part of the many prizes available for our second fundraiser for displaced and evacuating Gazans. We are working with White Coats for Black Lives to ensure that the money from this fundraiser will be distributed to the people who will need it most when we end the raffle on August 25th. The link for buying a raffle ticket is here: https://forms.gle/qRLwMZJQ6cv8WMEb8

If you prefer to donate directly instead of entering the art raffle, you can send funds to @linashaid and @gazamutualaid on IG. Please try not to mention ‘Palestine’ or related emojis in the note when you donate. Thank you!